The early Cast Member previews for "Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind" bypassed the queue and pre-show areas. However, in the last few days, Cast Members have been able to experience the entire attraction, including the pre-show, which we will share in this article.
NOTE that this article is full of spoilers. Stop reading now if you do not want to learn details of the "Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind" pre-show and story.
The Wonders of Xandar pavilion's first show scene takes place just inside the main entrance in the Galaxarium.
Galaxarium
The Galaxarium is a large planetarium-style space showcasing planets, stars, and other intergalactic wonders that connect Earth and Xandar. It takes the form of a large projection screen on the domed ceiling, with the queue space circling the room.
The Galaxarium projection show is a 30-minute loop, so there is a lot to see if you are in the queue area for a long time.
We hear from Worldmind, who tells us about Xandar, and shares a few back-and-forths with Peter Quill.
Leaving the Galaxarium via a ramp, the queue space moves into the second scene, the Xandar Gallery.
The Xandar Gallery
Here guests discover more about the Xandarian people, culture, and history – including the heroes of Xandar – through museum-like displays and projections.
Some of the exhibits include models of the Starblaster ship, Nova Corps uniforms, and a model of an urban center on the planet.
Most of the displays are digital projections, with the exception of the uniforms and models.
The queue moves past the exhibits and into a holding area where riders wait for a space in the Welcome Center pre-show.
Pre-show Scene 1 - Welcome Center
The pre-show experience is split into two distinct scenes.
The first pre-show scene is the Welcome Center, which takes place on Earth, and is the starting point for the Xandar Pavilion to demonstrate its advanced technologies.
Shot specifically for the ride by original Guardians of the Galaxy writer and director James Gunn, the pre-show lays out the story for Cosmic Rewind.
Nova Prime, played by Glenn Close, welcomes us and explains that we will be transported to a ship to see a demonstration of the cosmic generator, which creates shortcuts through space and time. We are also introduced to Centurion Tal Marik played by Terry Crews, who at this point tells us that no photography is allowed from this point forward. It seems that Disney is concerned about riders potentially dropping devices on the ride, and has chose to prohibit their use.
This first section of the pre-show lasts around 2.5 minutes.
Pre-Show Cene 2 - Teleportation Room
Guests leave the Welcome Center and move to the teleportation room where guests stand in a lighted circle on the floor. Visual effects on the ceiling accompany the teleportation process. The room goes dark, and the teleportation successfully puts us onto the ship. This effect is achieved with something similar to the finale of Journey into Imagination, where walls move to shift us from one apparent space to another instantly.
We see the cosmic generator on arrival at the ship, which suddenly disappears.
Nova Prime and Tal Marik contact the Guardians in a chaotic scene, which we then see on-screen via remote transmission.
Eson, the villain in the story, arrives on the scene and declares that all humans need to be wiped off the planet, and he is planning to use the cosmic generator to travel back in time to eradicate humans.
Rocket has a plan, and tells us to board an escape shuttle to follow Eson until the Guardians of the Galaxy arrive on the scene to save humanity.
The second pre-show section in the teleportation room lasts approximately three minutes.
Leaving the second pre-show room, we enter more queue space and move towards the load area for the ride section of the attraction to begin.
You can read more about the actual on-ride rollercoaster experience in our previous sneak peek article.
Annual Passholder previews will take place for those already registered on May 8, 9, 10, 16, 18, 19, 20, and 21.
Disney Vacation Club previews will take place on May 9 and 18.
Club 33 previews are on May 7, and D23 previews are on May 15 2022.
"Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind" officially opens to guests on May 27 2022.
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